By: Jack Barnwell

Hundreds gathered at the Fairbanks Pipeline Training Center Saturday for a reception hosting Interior Secretary Doug Burgum during a tour of Alaska's North Slope and interior.

The reception was hosted by Sen. Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska) and Rep. Nick Begich (R-Alaska) to celebrate what they called "Alaska's golden age" under recent federal policies and directives to make it easier for resource development in Alaska.

Burgum spent Friday and Saturday touring North Slope oil developments, including the Santos-owned Pikka project and the ConocoPhillips, along with visiting Mile 0 of the proposed controversial Ambler Road project.

He, Begich and Sullivan also continued their advocacy for the construction of the proposed Alaska LNG pipeline, an 800-mile natural gas line running from the North Slope to Cook Inlet.

"The importance has never been more clear than now," Burgum said. "We've never been closer to getting that project done. Momentum is building, the interest has never been higher and the economics has looked better ... we know Alaska knows how to build infrastructure that lasts 50 or 100 years."

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